THE LITTLE PRINCE (2015): Stop-Motion Adaptation Premieres at Cannes

The Stop-Motion Adaptation of Classic French Children’s Story, Le Petite Prince, Premieres at Cannes Film Festival. The world-renown, beloved French novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupery has been adapted for the screen and has premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this week. In a blend of CGI and practical stop-motion animation, the film has received positive reactions and snatched some of the attention away from Pixar’s Inside Out.

The film, directed by Mark Osborne, weaves in and out of a CGI present and stop-motion animated sequences depicting the main storyline. Inspired by an actual airplane crash that author Antoine de Saint-Exupery suffered by crashing his Lockheed P-38 fighter plane in the Sahara (he was trying to break record-time from Paris to Saigon), the story revolves around a little boy and his encounters on a strange planet. He’s accompanied by a mysterious E.T. presence that allows for philosophical discussions about the disillusions of adulthood, nostalgia, and the general melancholy of life. In that sense, it could tread some of the same ground – and go even deeper than – 2010’s Where The Wild Things Are. I adored that film, and hope this feels like a suitable companion piece. The music will certainly help, as Hans Zimmer (alongside Richard Harvey) composed the score.

The film was produced independently by Dimitri Rassam, and will be released by Paramount on July 29, 2015. It features a phenomenal cast of familiar voices, including Rachel McAdams, Jeff Bridges, Benicio Del Toro, Marion Cotillard, James Franco and Ricky Gervais.

About the author

Marco Margaritoff

I grew up in Hamburg to a German father and Ecuadorian mother. Obsessive student of film, Hip-Hop, and stand-up comedy. I love the dark dreambox that is the cinema auditorium. I love mountains and the ocean, but am equally exhilarated by the jungle of the city. I hope to one day create something that hits someone in the brain with thunderous effect.